“Hey, Soul Sister” by Train

It’s been cool to see how pop music has been drawing attention to the ukulele over the past few years. One such song is Train’s single Hey, Soul Sister off their “Save Me, San Francisco” album. Today, we’ll be looking at the chords for this song (scroll down a bit more for the chords).

Chords Used in “Hey, Soul Sister”

As a four chord song, there aren’t going to be a lot of chords to learn, however, the song is played in the key of E, which means you’ll have to incorporate some bar chords. Here are the chords you will need to know:

E major

B major

C#m

A major

“Hey, Soul Sister” Video

In this video, Train performs Hey, Soul Sister with just the ukulele.

Hey, Soul Sister Chords by Train

E B C#m A
Heeey, heeeey, heeeey!

- E
Your lipstick stains
B C#m A
On the front lobe of my left side brains
- E
I knew I wouldn't forget you,
- B C#m A B
And so I went and let you blow my mind
- E
Your sweet moonbeam,
B C#m A
The smell of you in every single dream I dream
- E
I knew when we collided,
- B
You're the one I have decided
- C#m A B
Who's one of my kind

E
Just in time,
B C#m A
I'm so glad you have a one track mind like me
- E
You gave my life direction
- B C#m A B
A game show love connection, we can't deny
- E
I'm so obsessed
B C#m A
My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest
- E B
I believe in you, "Like a Virgin," you're Madonna,
- C#m A B
And I'm always gonna want to blow your mind

- E
The way you can cut a rug,
B C#m
Watching you's the only drug I need
- (C#m cont'd)
You're so gangsta, I'm so thug,
- A
You're the only one I'm dreaming of
- E B
You see, I can be myself now finally,
- C#m
In fact there's nothing I can't be
- B A B
I want the world to see you'll be with me

If you feel like you've hit a wall with your ukulele playing, you're in luck.

With online ukulele lessons, you're able to learn how to play the ukulele from the comfort of your own home. However, as you've probably found, it can be hard to know where to start.

As you'll see in a moment, the Ukulele Strumming Tricks video lesson course is more than just a couple of lessons that were thrown together. It's a step-by-step, comprehensive course that gives you a complete roadmap towards ukulele success.

Let's take a look at how the Ukulele Strumming Tricks course is organized to take your playing to the next level…

83 Comments

Thomas (France)

Hey man!

First thanks for your website, it’s pretty awesome and it helps me a lot! I’m a beginner at ukulele, and your videos, tricks and chords library are perfect for me.

However I’ve got a small problem with this song: what is the strumming pattern? Thanks!

Thanks, Thomas! I’m glad you like Ukulele Tricks! I want to eventually create a video explaining the strumming pattern for this song. I would say though it’s most comparable to the strumming pattern for “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” which I explained and taught here. It’s very similar. The tempo’s might be slightly different and the chords will be different. Let me know if that helps you out!

Thomas (France)

Oh great! I’m actually also learning Somewhere over the rainbow. But I do guess it’s the same strumming pattern, but without picking the G chord before strumming?

E major is definitely tricky. There are two ways you might play it. I like it to play it using my index finger to barre all strings on the second fret. I then use my ring finger to bar the top three strings on the fourth fret.

If you have smaller fingers and hands, you might try instead, placing your index finger on the 2nd fret of the bottom string, middle finger on the 4th fret of the top string, ring finger on the 4th fret of the second to top string, and then your pinky on the 4th fret of the second to bottom string. I don’t do this way because my fingers are too fat and won’t fit.

Hope this helps.

Ben

I also prefer to bar the second fret and use my ring finger to then bar the 3 strings on the 4th fret, same way I play an E major on the 7th fret of a guitar……but, I’ve seen many people play E major by just barring the 3 strings on the 4th fret and muting the very bottom string by just letting the finger touch it so that it makes no sound at all. A little less pleasing, but much easier to play…..

Or you can tune your uke like Jimmy Stafford, with the low G tuned up to an A. Makes all the chords easier…

Nicole

Hannah,
Instead of E, you can use C. Instead of B you can use G. Instead of C#m you can use Am. Instead of A you can use F. its what I do and it’s way easier and sounds better. just make sure you have a capo on the 4th fret.

Capos are used to barre all four strings of the ukulele on any fret. This allows you to transpose the key. For example, in “Hey Soul Sister” if you place a capo on the fourth fret and use the chords C, G, Am, F to play the song, while you’re playing chords in the key of C, you’re technically playing in the key of E major because the capo transposes those chords to “sound” in E major. For more about transposing, check out this lesson here:

I am thinking of starting the ukulele, but i already play the guitar and I am confused with the notes and chords, should I still join? Also, does a really expensive ukulele make a difference rather than a really cheap one?

Steve, definitely download my free lesson book if you haven’t already. I go over chords, strumming patterns, and some songs. You already got a leg up on others just starting since you play the guitar.

Generally, you get what you pay for when it comes to ukulele. Typically, the more you pay, you’re paying for a ukulele constructed out of solid wood versus a laminate or plywood. You can get a decent solid wood ukulele for anywhere from $300+. The higher you go, you are usually paying for the frills like pearl inlays, finishes, etc.

This is all to say you can get a really great quality, entry-level ukulele for $100 – $200. I’d suggest going to a music store and trying some out!

grace

hey i was just wondering if you are going to do a strumming pattern for this song?? thanks (:

Hey, I’ve downloaded your e-book and have learnt a couple of basic songs and Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World but I can’t get the hang of the chord C#m :\ Any assistance? I have pretty small hands

C#m is a tough chord! This is because you have to barre the strings. It takes awhile for your fingers and hand to build up strength to get enough pressure on the strings to let the chord ring out clearly. The best thing is practice.

However, you might check out our chord library and see if there are any variations for the C#m chord that would be easier for you to play. You can take a look here:

hi Brett!!!
i absolutely love this website, i am still a beginner, at my ukulele, but i can now play hey soul sister, trouble, and hallelujah (plus a bunch of little kid songs =) ) but i have trouble with singing and playing at the same time, and was wondering if you could help, and maybe if you have free time posting a tutorial on just some pointers and advice
thx so much!!!!

Hey Nicole, you’re actually on the right track. The strumming pattern is down, down up, down up, down up played to a count of four. The biggest part to playing this strumming pattern is accenting beats 2 and 4 to create a pulse of sorts.

Nicole

wats the count of 4 mean??? and the accenting beats 2 and 4 to create a pulse of sorts… wats tht mean?? (sorry jus starting ukullele)

Love this song! This was super helpful I’m also a singer/songwriter and was given a uke for my birthday a few days ago from my bf Ive fallen in love with the cheerful sound!!! Can’t wait to get writing on my uke aswell
Thanks again for this site, love it!

Randy

Hey Brett! On the chord sheet there seems to be two chords stacked one on top the other. It only appears that way on the left side of the page. Is this a quick change or what? I’m way new, but you’ve gotten me through Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Maybe you can work your magic here! Thanks!

Hey Randy, I’m trying to figure out what two chords you are talking about. Did you print this page? I wonder if somehow the text printed weird and squished the chords on top of each other. Just let me know! I’d love to help.

Amanda

Can you post the chords for more english pop songs? Would appreciate it, love your site!! Very helpful

Juschilin'

With the A Major, i don’t get how it works?! It’s not possible is it?!

Hey Vikki, great questions! The B chord at the tail end of that line is changed to when in the middle of singing “do.” I’d recommend taking a listen to the video to hear how these chords change over this line.

Hope

I noticed in the Chord Library you had different variations for each chord. What are the some of the more simple chord variations for the four chords in this song? Thank you for creating such a clear and informative website!

If the key of E major is too difficult right now (it’s a tough key), I would suggest transposing the song to the key of C major. This means the chords would change like so: E = C, B = G, C#m = Am, and A = F. This means the chord progression would become C, G, Am, F.

Aurora

Hi Brett, I was wondering if you could put this song up, my mom really likes it and I was trying to learn it for her birthday but I can’t find the right chords anywhere! Thanks
Aurora

Aurora

sorry I forgot to put this on :]
I’ll see you in my dreams * Gus Kahn / Islam Jones
(as performed at the Concert For George by Joe Brown)

Kobe

Hey Brett. Im new with the ukulele but i have learned a handful of songs like somewhere over the rainbow, what a wonderful world, im yours, lucky, price tag, the a team, i get the first part of hey soul sister i just cant get the switching of chords in the lyrics it is tricky. Thanks and i love this website only had the ukulele for 3 days and this website has really helped me… need help on hey soul sister chorus thanks

Ricky

In the chorus after “hey soul sister” aint that mister * switch up down* switch up down * A major the whenever you see the chord do the same process

To playing in C major, using the chords C, G, Am, F, you would put the capo on the fourth fret to “sound” the song in the key of E major. This would allow you to play along with the audio recording of the song.

leah

Thank you for this awesome website. I play the piano and would like to play the ukulele to play this song (and Jason Mraz’s I’m yours) for my daughter to sing along. Of course I’ve never played one before. On Amazon there’s a ukulele for $122, it’s called Oscar Schmidt OU5 Concert Ukulele. You said you get what you pay for and when you pay even more you get all the inlays, and pretty stuff. I just want a really good one without the pretty stuff. Since I won’t know about the quality of a ukulele in a music store (since I don’t know how to play one at all), I’d like to see what you think …is this one of good quality? Thank you so much.

Hey Leah, I’ve played the OU5 at local music stores around here and it would be a great ukulele. It held tune for me just fine and sounded great! You can’t go wrong with that choice if you’re new to the ukulele.

ermalyn

hi how do i do the fingerings like 2nd finger on the third fret on the 4th string and stuff like that- i having trouble

Hi Adit, chords can be played in different positions and variations around the ukulele fretboard. Since chords are made up of individual, separate notes. If you rearrange the order in which you play those individual notes on each string of the ukulele, you get different chord positions. You can check out variations on different chord positions in my ukulele library here:

You’re doing a great job! Uke is such a wonderful instrument and having someone give helpful tips and tricks is invaluable for newcomers and old hands alike. This song is great fun to play and your lessons on blues fingering were ace. Thanks for doing what you do!

Joesph Dail

Hi Brett Mcqueen!!! I have a really big problem, I seem to have trouble on playing the E chord any tips?

Hi Joseph, I like to use my index finger to barre the 2nd fret and then I like to use my ring finger to barre the top three strings at the 4th fret. It’s a tough chord for sure and takes a lot of practice.

Kate

I have a soprano uke tuned English. Do I need to tune it differently to make the chords sound like those in your “Hey Soul Sister” video? Or would I need a capo? I saw your answer to “Cole” previously, but wasn’t sure if this is what you meant.

Hi Kate, if you are tuned in English tuning, I’m assuming you are tuned up a whole step to aDF#B. If so, you would need to tune your strings down a whole step to standard tuning (gCEA). Unfortunately, a capo wouldn’t be of much use in order to play along with me unless you wanted to capo at the 10th fret, which is really impractical.

Allyson

How do you strum throughout this song?

Thank You!

Richard Tingle

I play the E chord with my index finger on the first fret of the G, my middle or ring on the second fret of the A, and my pinky on the fourth fret of the C because when I try to bar the chord I do not get a good sound. Do you think this is a good way to play the E chord?

Hi Ashlee, I’ve seen ukulele players do this. Some would say this is bad technique but if your fingers are too small to reach, then I think it’s just fine to do this. I’m always trying to find ways to make it easier to play chords.

Marion

Hi, I’m new here! That youtube was so awesome yet so annoying all at the same time. I just wanted to watch the Ukulele player the whole time. I got the strumming stored its just the E chord I’m having trouble with. Usually it’s not a problem but with this particular sequence of chords its so tricky!! I’m trying to barre the 2nd fret and the top three on fret 4 as you suggested above but I can’t keep the A string open on the 4th fret- If you get what I mean!??!! Practice practice practice… Your website is awesome btw. Aroha nui from NZ

Liam

Playing A up the neck is easier I think. 4246, especially since c#m is 4446

Josh

Hey man, i got my first uke but the strings seem really loose on them and it affects my strum when i strum up. do you think its just needing a change of strings? it is a pretty budget ukulele just something to get started on i guess.

I do love this. The chords are perfect. I’m not sure if they’re the right key, but having a nearly perfect ear, I can say that they sound just right!! Even then, who cares if it’s in the same key? Excellent chart, I love it!!!

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About Brett McQueen

My name is Brett and I'm a musician, songwriter, and a bit of a web geek. I love helping others succeed as musicians and artists. My hope is that Ukulele Tricks would be a website that helps you become a better ukulele player.